Obituaries
Please submit in writing to our office by 10 a.m. Thursday before the week of publication; be sure to state date of death. Obituaries of archdiocesan priests serving our archdiocese are listed elsewhere in The Criterion. Order priests and religious sisters and brothers are included here, unless they are natives of the archdiocese or have other connections to it; those are separate obituaries on this page.
Submit an obituary here (parishes and funeral homes only)
BATES, Elicia S., 22,
St. Joan of Arc, Indianapolis, June 2. Daughter of Leon and Celesta Bates. Sister of Phillip Bates and Christopher Jones. Granddaughter of Leon Bates, Jr. Niece and cousin of several.
BOERGER, John, 92,
St. Lawrence, Lawrenceburg, June 3. Father of Sharon Freson, Janice Scheeler, Charlene, Jim and Jerry Boerger. Grandfather of 11. Great-grandfather of 15.
BOWMAN, Patricia A., 77, St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Indianapolis, June 8. Mother of Angelina and Elizabeth Bowman. Sister of Kathy McGarvey. Grandfather of six.
CLEVENGER, Richard, 95, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Richmond, June 5. Father of Lisa Pabst, Kate, James, Steve and Tom Clevenger. Grandfather of eight. Great-grandfather of 15.
COFFEY, Genevieve W., 94, St. Pius X, Indianapolis, March 20. Mother of Jane, Mary, Elliott, Michael and Timothy Coffey. Sister of John F. Coffey. Grandmother of 16. Great-grandmother of 16.
ELLIOTT, Charles, W., 93, St. Augustine, Jeffersonville, May 29. Father of Frances Ann Parrella, Susan Robertson, Charles, Mark and Tony Elliott. Brother of Ann Schindler and Bill Elliott. Grandfather of 10. Great-grandfather of six.
ENDERS, Edward, 71, St. Michael the Archangel, Indianapolis, June 1. Husband of Patty Enders. Father of Cory Enders. Brother of Theresa Sublett.
ENDRES, Leonard G., 87, St. Christopher, Indianapolis, June 7. Husband of Kathryn Endres. Father of Sally Burnell, Suzy Evans, David and Mike Endres. Grandfather of 10. Great-grandfather of five.
FIELDS, Michael D., 64,
St. John Paul II, Sellersburg, June 3. Husband of Carla Fields. Father of Deanna Taylor and Liz Fields. Son of Charles and Betty Fields. Brother of Shirley Vaughn and Robert Fields.
FIEREK, James H., 80,
St. Malachy, Brownsburg, June 6. Father of Susan Hays, Annie, Mary, Katie, Edward and Joe Fierek. Grandfather of 11.
FOLEY, Rita, 96, St. Theresa of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower), Indianapolis, May 28. Mother of Theresa Ball, Mary Hoover and Denise Shurts. Grandmother of nine. Great-grandmother of 21. Great-great-grandmother of two.
GUIDI, Shirley M., 90,
St. Joseph, Shelbyville, April 27.
Mother of John and Robert Guidi. Grandmother of 10. Great-grandmother of 17.
HOFFMAN, Steven W., 61, Holy Family, New Albany, June 4., Husband of Terri Hoffman. Father of Cheryl and Nick Hoffman. Brother of Karen Combs, Christy Hoffman-Smith, Sandy St. Louis, Bobby and Perry Hoffman. Grandfather of five.
KELLY, Mary, 80, St. Jude, Indianapolis, May 22. Mother of Dan Stevens, Keith and Mike Kelly. Grandmother of two. Great-grandmother of five.
KESSANS, Maxine, 83, St. Paul, Tell City, June 2. Wife of Dennis Kessans. Mother of Denise Schultz and Marty Kessans. Sister of Helen Schaefer. Grandmother of three.
KOCH, Rose, 81, St. Nicholas, Ripley County, April 9. Wife of Ken Koch. Mother of Sherry Colvin, Barb Houston, Doug, Jeff and Russ Koch. Sister of Kathy Case, Don and Richard Feldman. Grandmother of five. Great-grandmother of three.
LEWIS, Patricia, 68, St. Bartholomew, Columbus, June 9. Wife of Bob Lewis. Mother of Kristin Crawford. Sister of Al Roszczyk. Grandmother of one.
LITZINGER, Delores A., 79, St. Anthony of Padua, Morris, May 28. Wife of Emil Litzinger. Mother of Bob and Roger Litzinger. Sister of James, John, Martin and Robert Glaub. Grandmother of five. Great-grandmother of five.
LOFTUS, Mary M., 92,
St. Mary, New Albany, June 2. Mother of Gigi Gilstrap, Mary Ann Pinter, Dawn Quinlin and Danny Loftus. Sister of Betty Hutchinson. Grandmother of 11. Great-grandmother of 18.
MATTINGLY, Barbara Ann, 93, St. Pius X, Indianapolis, March 12. Mother of Dolores Koepfer, Alice, Carol and Edward Mattingly. Grandmother of three.
MCCAULEY, Caroline M. (Lynch), 90, Prince of Peace, Madison, June 6. Wife of Donald McCauley. Mother of Deborah Cross, Lynn Hughes, Donna, Daniel and Darren McCauley. Grandmother of eight. Great-grandmother of seven.
MCKELL, William E., 65, St. Mary, Greensburg, May 30. Brother of Connie Lonneman. Uncle of several.
MERCER, Gerald, 78,
St. Pius X, Indianapolis, March 8. Father of Jill and John Mercer. Brother of Carol Sukolics and Chester Mercer. Grandfather of five. Great-grandfather of four.
MEYER, Darlene (Freeland), 84, St. Mary, Greensburg, May 29. Wife of Leon Meyer. Mother of Christy Bokelman and Suzanne Ritter. Sister of Jeanne Duvelius, Louise Hammerle, Leroy and Walter Freeland. Grandmother of five. Great-grandmother of six.
MOONEY, III, William J., 86, St. Pius X, Indianapolis, March 23. Husband of Shiela Moynahan. Father of Kathleen Mooney Jeffers, Patricia Mooney Lautenbach, Maura Mooney Lee, Bridget Mooney McIntyre, Eileen Mooney Waithall, Erin Mooney Young, Robert and William Mooney, IV. Brother of Mary Jo Mooney Furgeson Carr, Anne Mooney Degnan and Michael Clune Mooney. Grandfather of 26.
O’BRIEN, Michael D., 68, St. Joan of Arc, Indianapolis, June 13. Husband of Jackie Nytes. Father of Patrick O’Brien. Brother of 12.
ODDI, Anthony P., 86,
St. Barnabas, Indianapolis, June 13. Husband of Karen Oddi. Father of Katy Dukes, Robin Langston, Cheryl Oddi-Smith, Andrea and Kara Oddi. Grandfather of nine. Great-grandfather of two.
PEONI, Rosemary, 85,
Good Shepherd, Indianapolis, June 9. Mother of Paul Peoni. Sister of Carmela Kidwell. Grandmother of two.
PEREZ-CASTRO, Jose M., 67, Prince of Peace, Madison, May 31. Husband of Maria Bolivar De Perez. Father of Cesar, Jose and Manuel Perez-Bolivar. Brother of Nahir and Felipe Perez-Castro. Grandfather of five.
RICKE, Rita J., 93,
Our Lady of Perpetual Help, New Albany, May 30. Mother of Kathy Kidd and Jeff Ricke. Grandmother of two. Great-grandmother of two.
ROBERTS, Suzanne, 90,
St. Lawrence, Indianapolis, May 22. Mother of Barbara Stroud, Jane and Pete Roberts. Sister of Nancy Maley. Grandmother of four.
SEIPEL, Donald L., 88,
St. Joseph, Corydon, May 28. Father of Melissa McPhillips and Mark Seipel. Brother of Paul Seipel. Grandfather of two.
SENEFELD, Frances, 91,
St. Michael, Brookville, June 5.
Mother of Linda Buchta, Rhonda Novak, Phyllis Richardson, Jody Webb and John Senefeld. Sister of Jeroma Brown. Grandmother of 13. Great-grandmother of 25.
SHEEHAN, Eileen M., 55, St. Joseph, Shelbyville, May 3. Mother of Maureen Sheehan, Terri Strouse and Carol Pogoni. Sister of Michael Sheehan.
SHREWSBURY, Howard F., 82, St. John Paul II, Sellersburg. June 1. Husband of Shirley Krum Shrewsbury. Father of Beth McCubbins and Theresa Shrewsbury. Grandfather of two.
SONNTAG, Robert, 85, All Saints Parish, Dearborn County, June 9. Husband of Diana Sonntag. Father of Pamela Brashears, Julie Douglas, Traci Jansen, Jodi Lovell, Christine Upton, Scott McAdams, Robert and Steven Sonntag. Grandfather of 20. Great-grandfather of eight.
STITH, Sarah L., 86,
St. Mary-of-the-Knobs,
Floyd County, June 6. Wife of Raymond Stith, Sr. Mother of Lisa King, Teresa Sims, Raymond, Jr., and Terry Stith. Grandmother of six. Great-grandmother of nine.
THORNBURG, Trent, 25, Holy Family, Oldenburg,
June 2. Son of Mark Thornburg and Susan Bohman. Stepson of Dale Bohman. Brother of Kayla Bork, Joseph Bohman, Devin Childers, Branson and Matthew Thornburg. Grandson of Dick and Patricia Moeller and Willard and Regina Williamson. Step-grandson of Richard and Paula Bohman. Nephew and cousin of several.
TUMILTY, Linda L.,
St. Mary, Greensburg, June 9.
Sister of Betty Hamilton, Margaret Hash, Sharon, John and Thomas Tumilty. Aunt of several.
URBANCIC, Louise, 92, St. Michael the Archangel, Indianapolis, June 1. Mother of Lisa Maddingly, Leslie Stonehouse, and Loren Urbancic. Grandmother of three. Great-grandmother two.
VOWELS, Dianna, 71, Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Indianapolis, June 9. Wife of Richard Vowels. Mother of Megan Smith, Nathan and Nolan Vowels. Grandmother of three.
Providence Sister Marianne Mader ministered in Indianapolis for 35 years
Providence Sister Marianne Mader (formerly Sister Ann Eugene) died on June 7 at Mother Theodore Hall at the motherhouse of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in St. Mary-of-the-Woods. She was 73.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, a virtual funeral service was held. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.
Sister Marianne was born on Jan. 15, 1947, in Indianapolis and grew up as a member of St. Philip Neri Parish, and graduated from the former St. Mary Academy. She entered the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods on Aug. 30, 1967, and professed final vows on March 8, 1975.
Sister Marianne earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and a master’s degree in library science at Rosary College (now Dominican University) in River Forest, Ill.
During her 53 years as a member of the Sisters of Providence, Sister Marianne ministered as an educator, librarian and in other fields in Indianapolis for 35 years. She was a teacher at the former St. Catherine of Siena School from 1971-72 and at St. Philip Neri School from 1972-77. Sister Marianne served as a librarian at Community Hospital from 1978-93 and Holy Angels School from 2002-06. She worked as a medical information assistant at Crossroads Rehabilitation Center 1997-98 and as an instructional assistant at Holy Spirit School from 1998-2002.
Returning to the motherhouse in 2006, Sister Marianne served on its archives staff from 2006-17 and as a consultant to the archives from 2017-19.
She is survived by two sisters, Roseanne Huckleberry of Greenfield and Catherine Odle of Charlottesville, Ind., and two brothers, Eugene and Gerald Mader, both of Greenfield.
Memorial gifts may be sent to the Sisters of Providence, 1 Sisters of Providence Road, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, St. Mary-of-the-Woods, IN 47876.
Providence Sister Edna Scheller served in Catholic schools for 43 years
Providence Sister Edna Scheller died on June 8 at Lourdes Hall at the motherhouse of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in St. Mary-of-the-Woods. She was 88.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, a virtual funeral service was held. Burial followed at the sisters’ cemetery.
Sister Edna was born on May 28, 1932, in Evansville, Ind. She entered the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods on
Jan. 8, 1950, and professed final vows on
Aug. 15, 1957.
Sister Edna earned a bachelor’s degree in education at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and a master’s degree in education at Indiana University.
During her 70 years as a member of the Sisters of Providence, Sister Edna ministered as an educator for 43 years in schools in California, Illinois, Indiana and North Carolina.
In the archdiocese, she served in Indianapolis at the former St. Catherine of Siena School from 1956-57, the former
St. Bridget School from 1957-65, St. Luke
the Evangelist School from 1965-68 and
St. Thomas Aquinas School from 1968-70. She also ministered at the former Sacred Heart School in Clinton as principal from 1993-2000.
Sister Edna served at the motherhouse as health care administrator from 1988-93 and as a driver and coordinator of transportation from 2001-17.
She is survived by a brother, Thomas Scheller of Evansville.
Memorial gifts may be sent to the Sisters of Providence, 1 Sisters of Providence Road, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, St. Mary-of-the-Woods, IN 47876. †